Bull Rider Mason Lowe Dies From Injuries at PBR Event

Professional bull rider Mason Lowe died on Tuesday (Jan. 15) after he was reportedly bucked off a bull named Hard Times at a Professional Bull Riding event in Denver, Colo.

Denver's CBS-4 reports testimony from witnesses who say Lowe was bucked off and then the bull stepped on his chest. He got up and took a few steps before collapsing. He was carted off on a stretcher, but PBR CEO Sean Gleason confirms that Lowe died as a result of injuries sustained in competition.

We are deeply saddened to report that Mason Lowe passed away this evening following injuries sustained at the PBR event in Denver ... The entire PBR and National Western sports family extends our heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathies to Mason’s wife Abbey and his family.

See More Pictures of Mason Lowe Doing What He Loved

According to USA Today 25-year-old Lowe was the No. 18 ranked bull rider in the world at the time of his death at the National Western Stock Show. He'd won 12 times in seven years of competition and had just one week earlier shared video of a ride on Twitter:

Bull riding is a very dangerous sport — one that regularly intersects with country music. Chris LeDoux is perhaps the most famous rodeo cowboy-turned-country-singer (he was a champion bareback rider), but newcomer Cody Johnson also rode before chasing his musical dreams instead. In 2013 Aaron Watson released a song called "July in Cheyenne" that was a tribute to the late Lane Frost, a bull rider who died in 1989 after being rammed in the back by a bull.

The National Western Stock Show is holding a fundraiser for Lowe's family on Wednesday. The series began on Jan. 12 and extends through Jan. 28.